Extensive death of nerve cells leads to severe dementia in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Until now, it has only been possible to investigate the neuronal devastation in post mortem animal models, and by using complicated methods. Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) Muenchen, headed by Professor Christian Haass, have now successfully observed this demise of nerve cells by life imaging. The scientists inserted a gene into zebrafish that leads to a severe form of Alzheimer's in humans. The translucent larvae thereupon developed characteristic symptoms such as the death of neurons the first directly observable instance in a living organism. "Our discovery now allows us to perform a targeted search for drugs that can stop the extensive cell death, and thereby stop dementia in patients," says Haass. "The first findings have already shown that we can in principle use drugs to block at least some of the disease-related processes in the zebrafish."
Around one million people in Germany suffer from Alzheimer's disease. There are an estimated 12 to 18 million patients around the world. This trend is even rising, not least due to the longer life expectancy of people in western society. The search for causal therapies is sorely needed, since neuronal cell death in the brains of Alzheimer's patients can still not be defeated. Moreover, the death of neurons can only be truly confirmed after the death of the patient. Even in animal models, the destruction of nerve cells has only been observable to a very limited extent and with great difficulty.
Professor Christian Haass and his two colleagues Dr. Bettina Schmidt and Dominik Paquet of the Deutsche Zentrum fr Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen, DZNE (German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease) at LMU Muenchen and the cluster of excellence Center for Integrated Protein Science (CIPSM) have now inserted a gene responsible for a severe form o
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| Contact: Luise Dirscherl dirscherl@lmu.de 0049-089-218-02706 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt Mnchen Source:Eurekalert |
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